Tottenham now told they missed out on signing ‘one of the best defenders in Europe’

Add as preferred source on Google

Real Betis’ chief executive Ramon Alarcon has labelled Illya Zabarnyi as ‘one of the best defenders in Europe’ – after Tottenham Hotspur reportedly missed out on the player to Bournemouth. 

Tottenham managed to address a key area of the pitch by bringing in Pedro Porro on deadline day, while also offloading Djed Spence on loan and mutually terminating Matt Doherty’s contract. 

Many fans will be left slightly bewildered by the fact that Tottenham opted to sign another forward in Arnaut Danjuma over strengthening the centre of their defence though.

Spurs have evidently struggled defensively this season and they seemingly passed up on the opportunity to snap up Zabarnyi.

Football.London reported on Wednesday that Conte’s men ‘really liked’ the Ukrainian defender but he signed for Bournemouth while they watched on.

Now, the 20-year-old has received huge praise from Alarcon who was left surprised by his switch to Bournemouth.

Tottenham missed out on Zabarnyi

Speaking to The Athletic, Alarcon highlighted the financial strength of a ‘club like Bournemouth’ being able to tie up a £20 million deal for the defender.

The Betis chief labelled Zabarnyi as ‘one of the best defenders in Europe’ and it’s a surprise to see the Cherries sign him, with a deal similar to his being out of reach for most clubs in La Liga.

Zabarnyi completed a switch to the south coast from Dynamo Kyiv after Tottenham had scouted him extensively.

But the north Londoners clearly passed up on the opportunity, with Football.London reporting that they are aiming to sign two new centre-backs over the summer.

Spurs did bolster Conte’s defensive options last summer by bringing in Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona. But for all of the Frenchman’s brilliant qualities on the ball, he’s been shaky defensively.

Tottenham will probably be keeping an eye on Zabarnyi’s progress at Bournemouth and in the event that Gary O’Neil’s men go down, they may revive their interest if the youngster performs well.